Anatomy of a Blessing

Blessings over food and other experiences are tools for transcendental amazement.

Brachot – blessings that we say over food and other experiences – are tools for transcendence. They are not transcendence itself. Like all meditations, they do not work by magic. A person who utters them casually will gain little. But when said with understanding and concentration, they become a daily source of transcendental amazement.

The bracha thereby resolves our dilemma of how to sustain the transcendental experience; how to walk through life in total amazement. We may not achieve that level of concentration all day long, but we can certainly reach it whenever we eat.

In the parlance of Rabbi Chaim Velozhin (19th century), just as food helps the soul connect to the body (because without food, eventually the soul will separate from the body), brachot connect the soul to the Infinite. The kabbalists explain that the mouth is where the soul fuses with the body. This explains why food goes in there (as food maintains the fusion) and why brachot are spoken there (as they maintain the soul's connection to the Infinite.

Brachot connect the soul to the Infinite

Ideally, we should all compose our own brachot as needed, and such was the practice in early Jewish history. However, the social-political decline that led to the Babylonian conquest paralleled a spiritual decline. This spiritual decay was characterized by, among other things, a loss of sensitivity to the language. The Great Assembly therefore codified the brachot in order to perpetuate them. Today it is considered improper to compose one’s own bracha, both because of our general insensitivity to the nuances of language and because we need common texts to help preserve Jewish unity.

Although one might think that a standardized text limits creativity; in fact it can be a vehicle for greater creativity. Consider each bracha as a classical sonata. Each of us is a musician, and the creative possibilities are as numerous as the number of musicians. Like music, brachot should be vocalized, not confined to the imagination. Music is the purest expression of emotions and great music can profoundly affect the emotions. Similarly, speech is the concretization of thought; hence one can control thoughts via speech. A bracha is a prophetic sound-byte that (for most people) must be vocalized to be effective as a meditation.

From Obvious To Sublime

Most brachot follow the same general pattern. First, they begin with words that convey the idea of opening a transcendental connection: "Baruch ata…," which literally means "Blessed are You…"

"Baruch" is related to the word breicha, which means a spring of water, indicating the source of this moment's life experience. "Ata" means "You" – a very personal, endearing appellation for the Infinite! So the brachot begin, in translation, "You are the source…"

We use the second person because we humans tend to be drawn to those who are familiar to us. Someone to whom I refer as "you" is immediately closer to me than someone to whom I refer as "he." Therefore, although we're talking about the Infinite and not having a conversation, the mystics gave us brachot in the language that people speak to one another. The meditation is thereby real and personal.

Next, most brachot continue with four names, each of which is an attempt to grasp the Infinite within the limits of the human mind. The four words move the speaker from the most obvious to the most sublime:

Adonoy – the Being Who was, is, and will ever beEloheinu – our Power, the underlying Force in natureMelech – the King and Director who orchestrates all eventsHa-olam – the finite world that "conceals" the Infinite

All together, the typical bracha begins:

You are the source – that which was, is and will ever be – our power, director of the concealment...

The remainder of the bracha specifies the experience at hand. If the experience is eating a piece of fruit, then the bracha ends with "...creating fruit." Indeed, the four appellations listed above describe a force that surely does create fruit and everything else in life.

Altogether, the bracha is a meditative phrase that aids us in focusing on that piece of fruit and appreciating every aspect of it – including the fact that it exists at all and that I am able to enjoy it!

It is crucial to avoid the misconception that the fruit is infinite, or worse, that the fruit is the Infinite. More accurately – to the extent that our language will allow – the fruit is of the Infinite. The Infinite is there, but then again, it's everywhere. We can choose to eat the fruit in a way that will help us expand our awareness of the Infinite’s infiniteness. The bracha is thereby a very useful tool to steer our normal perception toward a transcendental one.

Meditative Phrases

Since each bracha addresses a single, isolated experience, in order to infuse one’s entire life with amazement, one should try to use brachot in conjunction with the full range of life experiences.

This is in fact exactly what the Great Assembly codified. They wrote brachot for many kinds of experiences conducive to capturing a wow! in order to use those moments to transcend the finite. Their goal was to give the individual a tool to make daily mundane events into a mystical experiences.

The Great Assembly included Israel’s wisest sages, among them three biblical prophets: Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. With profound insight into both human nature and the Hebrew language, they created meditative phrases to be used when awaking and when retiring, when eating and when relieving, when putting on shoes and when greeting a long lost friend, when witnessing natural phenomena, when giving birth and when encountering death.

A special bracha is for a parent holding a newborn baby.

For instance, there are different brachot for various food types. There is a special bracha for seeing lightning and another for hearing thunder. There is a bracha for seeing a rainbow. There is a special bracha for a parent holding a newborn baby for the first time. There is a special bracha for seeing an unusually beautiful person or animal. There is another bracha for seeing an unusually ugly, deformed animal or person (who comes from the same source, after all).

There is a bracha for unusually good news, and a different bracha for unusually bad news. There is a special bracha for seeing a world-class scholar. There is even a special bracha for going to the bathroom. [Most prayer books contain the text of these blessings - click to buy an ArtScroll siddur]

Spiritual Unity

brachot are so beneficial to expanding one’s consciousness that the Talmud recommends saying 100 per day. Divide a typical 16-hour day by 100 and the result is, on average, one bracha every 10 minutes. Although practically-speaking it is easier to cluster them together at certain times throughout the day, the overall effect of striving for 100 is to pepper the day with the kind of meditative moments of appreciation that brachot so successfully create.

The Great Assembly had a secondary goal as well. The Babylonian conquest 70 years earlier had scattered Jews to several parts of the world where they adopted new mother tongues. This demographic dispersion has persisted for 2,400 years. To this day, only a minority of Jews live in Israel and speak Hebrew (which linguistically has evolved from biblical Hebrew sufficiently to call it a different tongue). As a counter-force, the canonization of a common liturgy had the effect of maintaining Jewish spiritual unity despite the geographic and cultural dispersion.

The primary building block of that common spirituality is the bracha. The material world presents us with two choices: to enjoy it as a gourmet (spiritually) or as a glutton (materially). To enjoy it only in itself, or to use the aesthetic experience to leap toward transcendental awareness. The bracha is a user-friendly method for elevating the aesthetic experience into the wow! that every moment of life can and should be.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 13

(12)
Anonymous,
January 8, 2012 7:07 AM

Thank you

I just wanted to say thank you for this article. I have been trying to find a book to enhance my brachos and I have been to all of the Jewish bookstores in town, but they only seemed to have books on the laws of brachos. So I just searched what i was looking for online and came upon your article. This is EXACTLY what i have been looking for and I am so grateful that such a book exists. I just ordered the book and want to thank Rabbi Seinfeld for taking the time to write this book and being my shaliach at just the right time and I'm sure I'm speaking for others as well.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(11)
ruth housman,
July 5, 2011 12:26 PM

the maze in Amazement and the maze EL

I loved this most beautiful, thoughtful piece, about prayers and deeply, about "having words" in a most positive way. Maybe we have lost that attention to words as you have said, and maybe we need these prayers, beautiful as you have shown in deconstructing and analyzing the meaning of the words.
I say, we have not all lost that constant amazement of miracle and the ability to say it our own way. The poets do this, and most poets, have to live in the moment, that moment, of awe. And of course not all poets are poets who write, but those who live with the poetry of "righting", of doing what's right, and sometimes rite. But I say we can all think out of the box, and also use that box. It is a diverse world.
I feel constant access to G_d and this miracle of being alive. Another day. That in itself is G_d's mitzvah to us all.

(10)
Anonymous,
December 7, 2010 9:36 PM

list of mitzvot

Dear Rabbi Seinfeld:
I thank HASHEM since i was a kid, however, after reading this article i finally found what i had been feeling all along, that there is a whole set of prayers to say at each event. I want a list so that every ten minutes, i can recite these blessings. I have a siddur but it is very complicated for me to find them and i know i will never swim thru that book and find them. It is very discouraging. Please, help me, send me a list of the blessings so my spiritual life can reach higher elevation. todah. elisheva

Alexander Seinfeld,
June 12, 2011 2:18 PM

Reply to Elisheva

Dear Elisheva,
My book, the Art of Amazement, has exactly such a list (2 actually, one in Ch 5 and an additional list in the Appendix), complete with translations and transliterations.

(9)
,
December 5, 2010 8:15 PM

Thank you so much for these insights

I'd like to say that I was taught to say thank you before every meal since I as a little kid.Now I'm almost 47 yo and as a cancer patient I do have to say "Mode Ani..." every morning when I wake up to a brand new day

(8)
Eric Staffin,
May 6, 2007 10:05 PM

Bracha - Central Theme for Wedding Toast

I wanted to thank you for the thoughtful commentary and the content from the first few paragraphs ... I had the opportunity to recite portions of this section at my mother's marriage to a wonderful gentleman. In conjunction with a few tidbits from Bracha #14 (chabad) and occassional humor, I sounded insightful, spritually connected, and delighted with the chance to infuse a little inspiration (and Judaism) into the speech / toast.

Warmest regards,Eric Staffin

(7)
Anonymous,
May 12, 2004 12:00 AM

Your description of a prayer is definitely mystical and reflects an individual poin of view though awe inspiring. Good subject of discussion.

(6)
Mrs. Rhonda,
May 17, 2003 12:00 AM

A Bruchah - a - day!

It was over a year ago that I was informed of the basic bruchot over food. Growing up in a conservative family, bruchot only happened on Friday nights and only occasionally. I attended day school as a youngster and always felt the "need" to thank HaShem on a daily basis, thus I used to daven daily at the tender age of seven. I am now 40 (Baruch HaShem) have a family of my own(dito) and attend torah classes, weekly shabbat services at an orthodox shul and currently say:..."she-ha-kol ne-he-yeh bead-vah-roh" before eating. What a difference it makes when you say a bruchah before you eat; The food actually tastes BETTER! I know it sounds crazy but give it a try for a few months and you'll see what I mean!

(5)
David Merrill,
May 14, 2003 12:00 AM

numero-linguistic interface

In other words, the veil - H'Olam. I am reminded of The Word; The Dictionary that Reveals the Hebrew Source of English by Isaac Elchanon Mozeson. Mozeson convincingly describes all languages as Hebrew in their local format. The Solar Plexus (Chinese "Abdominal Brain") is a neural nexus capable of resonating over 80,000 distinct chemical requests (complex signal generation) to the liver alone in one day's time. The Bracha are a systematic adjustment to balance and fine tune this signal generator for harmony and peace within the microcosm and over the numero-linguistic interface "angelic messenger" into the macrocosm - contributions to the Tikkun anthology - Restoration.

(4)
Debra,
May 13, 2003 12:00 AM

If only we could all look at life with the WoW spoken of in this article.

I would be able to spend a more peaceful time at my everyday things looking at them as not so everyday.

(3)
mike zuckerman,
May 12, 2003 12:00 AM

excellent piece - clarified some things for me

two thoughts:
1. I don't believe speech as the concretization of thought really CONTROLS thought, so much as it fixes a particular thought in time and space.

2. I offer another version of the opening bracha phrase:

You are the omnipotent source Who directs the projection of the infinite
onto the finite plane.

(2)
raye walker,
May 12, 2003 12:00 AM

Thanks for the reminder.

I have yet to gain control of my concentration so that I can avail myself of this G-dgiven gift of brachot.
How much more meaningful daily life would be. Just writing this now is a big help.

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!